Team Performance in Soccer

In this assignment I will design a template that I will use to analyze a team performance in soccer. First of all, a background on soccer will be detailed. Over 240 million people around the world play soccer regularly as stated by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), soccer is the most played sport in the world. Soccer started off with kicking an animal-hide ball around in fields into the most famous sport in the world. Soccer has been dated back to 2,000 years ago where ancient China, Greece, Rome, and parts of Central America were playing this sport. But it was England that change the sport of soccer into the game that it is today, where there are 11 players on each team on the pitch during the 90-minute game, each team is allowed three substitutes, each half is 45-minutes with a 15-minute rest in between. The English recorded the first rules for soccer, including tripping opponents and touching the ball with the hands were given as fouls and a free kick or penalty would be awarded. As soccer developed over the years, more rules were brought in to make the game fairer for everyone involved including the penalty kick which was brought in 1891. As the years went on FIFA brought in more rules to keep making the game as fair as possible, for example the yellow and red cards were brought in to the 1970 World Cup. More rules have been introduced recently to constantly keep the game fair for the players involved (Athnet, 2019).

The demands of a soccer player will be discussed now. The distance covered during a match is around 10-13 kilometers for a professional player. The majority of the distance covered throughout the match is done by walking and jogging but it is the sprinting periods that change the whole game, the higher-intensity running periods is when the team are either running for an opportunity where they can get a shot of at goal or where the team is defending against the opponents and they will have to put in a tackle to regain possession. The distance covered throughout the game separates players from professionals and amateurs.Soccer players also need a combination of fitness attributes such as strength, endurance, power, co-ordination as well as speed and agility in order to play the 90 minutes plus, therefore players also need to be mentally and technically ready, (media, 2019).

Throughout the soccer season athletes need to physical put their bodies under stress to improve their overall fitness. Strength training is very important for any athlete that plays soccer as it corrects muscle imbalances and reduces the risk of injury, but there has to be a coach there to see the athlete is lifting properly for their own safety. Strength training is divided up into three categories maximal strength, explosive power and muscular endurance. Maximal strength increases jumping ability and motor performance which are very important for set pieces because players need to concentrate on what they are doing so that they have a better chance of scoring. One of the main goals of a soccer player is to build as much maximal strength as they possibly can so that they can turn this strength into muscular endurance and explosive power, muscular endurance is important for athletes to be able to maintain running for the 90-minute game. Plyometric training has been shown to be the most effective way of improving and enhancing explosive power which is needed for soccer players to jump up and win headers either in the defense to clear a ball or score a goal against the opponent. Dynamic movements such as headers, tackling, sprinting and kicks all need muscle strength, endurance and power and are very important for soccer players. Players need strength to defend against components who try to push them off the ball while in the air or on the ground and also so they can get in a good position to tackle the ball of the opponent. Therefore, it is important that athletes improve their soccer specific strength as they get ready to play a game, as the athlete needs to have the ability of using muscle strength and power effectively and consistently within a 90-minute game so that they can give good passes and have good shots at the goal throughout the game. 

Soccer players require a lot of muscular endurance so twice a week they do a soccer specific circuit. Within this circuit they work on their core stability and balance helping their co-ordination, which is important for shooting and passing. If the players have bad core stability and balance it will lead to more unforced errors. Soccer players need a high level of aerobic fitness in order to produce and maintain high intensity running periods and to be able to recover quicker, this very important for midfield players who need to get back and help the defence while also helping the attackers. Anaerobic endurance is important for soccer players especially strikers because they have to run in shorts bursts when sprinting for a ball to try beat their opponent. (J.L.Croisier, 2009)